Saturday, 10 October 2009

Beauty DIY: Sasa's latest brand from Taiwan

Oh my, I could not find any title that was more boring for today. Aside from not being very eyecatching (the title), it does tell what I will write about....

Almost...(ha ha, I need to keep something left for the blog itself)

Anyway, this week I was the happy receiver of a package from sasa.com: my curious eye had drawn me to a new skincare brand from Taiwan: BeautyDIY.

I looked at their promises, their packaging and their ingredients: it looked a lot like the DIY skincare that are present on some US websites (such as Gardenofwisdom.com and skinactives.com).

I ordered from such websites a couple of years ago, because I was in an incredible DIY stage and I still wanted all the nifty and high-tech ingredients that are present in high end skincare (without the ingredients that could irritate me).

Now there was a Taiwanese verson on sasa that sells skincare products with a similar approach, and with a lovely reasonable price (prices vary between $9 and $20). I could not help but adding them to my cart.

And then....I tried to find out what was inside by looking at the boxes....mmmm....

I looked at the front: - there was just the logo and their claim)

The back...

Ah, there is some text!!!

Oh....it is just stating the philosophy of BeautyDIY (which is good, but I still have no clue what is in the boxes)

Side one: not much info

Side two: Hey, that looks like ingredients!

They are ingredients...but from what product???? (Chinese readers might actually find the clue, but my knowledge of the chinese language is just limited to certain words)

The ingredients look wonderful, though, the list is limited to the necessary elements only. Aside of the parabens, the ingredients look rather natural.

So, I opened the boxes....and FINALLY....I found out what the content was.

The pot is the Papaya Enzymatic Peeling, written down in green letters on a tiny stroke of plastic.

The right tube is my Glacial Mud purifying mask.

For the DIY phobes: there is not DIY mixing of any kind. You will receive the ingredients all mixed in the tube or jar...so no messiness. Which still makes me wonder why they used the name Beauty DIY...(where is the DIY part?)

I ordered the Glacial clay mask. Glacial clay has proved to be sooo wonderful for my skin. It draws out impurities without making it excessably dry. I once bought the powder version at gardenofwisdom once, and loved it.

The BeautyDIY version comes in a non-powder, creamy form that can be applied instantly...no mixing beforehand. It tingles a bit when applied, a minty feeling, and dries within 10 minutes. The result is a clean-feeling, soft and cleaner skin...me likey!

I also tested the peeling. It turns out, unexpectedly, to be a rub-off peeling!

I actually expected a enzymatic peeling that you have to let on for a couple of minutes, then it feels a bit like a burning/tingling sensation. It says enzymatic peeling on the jar, so I expected that sort of peeling.

But this one is a rub off/peel off peeling that you often see with Asian brands. You put on a thin layer, wait for a while, and after a couple of minutes you can lift of the plasticky layer.

I found this to be good, as it did not irritate my sensitive skin at all!!!! Bonus was, that my skin looked clearer afterwards!

(I show you the back of the BeautyDIY as well. It only has information in Chinese so I could not tell you what it states).

So far I like the two items I bought from BeautyDIY. I have to say that the packaging is very minimal, so if you feel like having a princessy packaging that enhances the feeling of luxury, I would suggest not buying any BeautyDIY (or you have to scoop some of BeautyDIY in some pretty jars).

I personally do not mind using products that come in simple jars: I love the packaging of fancy drugstore brands, but often they leave my skin a burning/itching mess, or in the best case, they do not work so much for me.

If you are liking a simple approach of skincare, and think that 'less is more' also applies to skincare, then BeautyDIY, or these particular products I have, is something you might appreciate. I cannot say anything about long-term effects, but for now, I like the two things I have bought from them. (although they could improve on their information on the packaging)

Anyway, have a splendid weekend and be good to your inside and outside self!

when you said it's from tw, i had to have a look. anything from homeland makes me look twice I guess.

this is such an interesting concept and I am tempted! i don't think i'd ever really looked into makeup much whenever i go home. but I now think I should after reading so many strange things with fresh concepts.